I'm here because, right now, the Indonesian and Norwegian governments have the chance to change history. They have the opportunity to set a precedent that will lead the world from impending catastrophe towards a new, green global economy.

The Norwegian government is negotiating a US$1 billion deal with the government of Indonesia to protect forests and carbon-rich peatlands. If they get this deal right, it will keep natural and ancient forests standing, tigers and orang-utans alive and forest peoples thriving, as well as helping to stop catastrophic climate change.

But if they get it wrong – if current loopholes are allowed to stay in the deal – companies involved in forest destruction will be allowed to keep pulping the planet with impunity.

We want to see Indonesia benefit first from significant advances in a new green global economy. Sustainability and economic development can go hand in hand, and a sustainable palm oil and paper industry could play an important economic role in Indonesia both now and into the future. We at Greenpeace want to see Norwegian taxpayer’s money spent in the right way. We want to see a good Norwegian Indonesian initiative become a global model.

That’s why I’ve come to Indonesia to greet the Rainbow Warrior and meet leaders from across Indonesian society – government, civil society, religious leaders and industry. This is such an important opportunity, it should not be wasted.

Understandably, companies that have been exposed as making false promises on ending deforestation have bad feelings towards Greenpeace.

We challenge them to walk the talk and live up to their words.

We are also working with other local and indigenous communities to end deforestation in the Amazon, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and more recently, the Congo, in Africa. This follows the success of protection for the Great Bear rainforest in Canada. All are crucial parts of local, national, and international efforts to put the brakes on climate change and protect the diversity of life within them.

Here and around the world, the forests are disappearing, and there is no time to waste in protecting them.

Post a comment

OPTIONAL: Register to avoid filling out forms each time you post a comment
Sign Up Here
login via Facebook or Google

mememine69
says:

The public and voters are on to our CO2 mistake. Yes, Yes, Yes, the majority of the a$$ kissing bureaucrats of the majority of the main publicly and o...

The public and voters are on to our CO2 mistake. Yes, Yes, Yes, the majority of the a$$ kissing bureaucrats of the majority of the main publicly and or politically funded science organizations, endorsed the continued support of the CO2 theory while the majority of the scientists themselves and the majority of the independent science organizations DID NOT support the 24 year old CO2 theory.
Ah the science of climate change, fueled relentlessly by the unconscionable corporate media, the details of which were fed to the media by environmental groups who themselves forged alliances with politicians who in turn provided more and more funding for the environmental groups to pay the scientists to keep the blood running in the CO2 theory. Now do you see the never ending cycle of perpetual motion that fed fuel to this Disco science you fading doomers thought was pure as the driven snow? Scientists not only polluted the planet with their chemicals, they also produced cruise missiles, cancer causing chemicals, land mine technology, nuclear weapons, germ warfare, strip mining technology, deep sea drilling technology and now climate change. Consensus is just an empty, shallow and transparent word now and the voters see us as wishing for this misery to have happened. We look real bad here folks.
If you don’t get now, you soon will because a wave of denier rage is coming from a generation of real liberals who won’t tolerate another round of CO2 death threats. The CO2 mistake was the Iraq War of lies for science, journalism and liberalism. Turns out climatologists were to science what priests were to the Catholic Church. Let’s all get ahead of the curve and back off of climate change.
When you believe in things you don’t understand, ………..bad things happen. Let’s be progressive.

Post a comment

OPTIONAL: Register to avoid filling out forms each time you post a comment
Sign Up Here
login via Facebook or Google

(Unregistered) KatieNal21
says:

'The Power of the Consumer'- Yesterday I walked around one small supermarket and found so many products containing palm oil... By avoiding buying anyt...

'The Power of the Consumer'- Yesterday I walked around one small supermarket and found so many products containing palm oil... By avoiding buying anything containing palm oil, we can take action to protect forests. (Unfortunately the industry is green washed so be aware of that too) How can we educate people to stop buying palm oil? People are still buying these products because they don't know. If it had a picture of a homeless orang-utan on the front - this might make us think twice... There are millions of these supermarkets selling these products, and millions of manufacturers that are using palm oil and millions of people buying these products. (That’s us)
We as consumers have the power to change things. We can write to the manufacturers to ask them to use sustainable ingredients. We can also ask them to change to using organic farming methods. I visited Malaysia last year and saw that the countryside around Kuala Lumpur and the other places we visited were covered for miles and miles with Palm oil plants. (Monoculture style) this is tragic to think that the wildlife/Eco-system that once lived here have disappeared forever and have been replaced by factory-style palm plantations on a vast scale. (Monoculture is devastating to the local eco-system as it wipes out species that depend on different species of plants etc..) Seeing these plantations made me think about what is happening in Indonesia and other forests around the world.
By supporting Greenpeace and Kumi Naidoo, lets make a difference. As consumers, it starts with us. We have the power to make careful decisions about the food we eat. By choosing organic, fair-trade products, the more we support these manufacturers the better it is for people,wildlife and the eco-system. Let's hope that Indonesia and the Earth's forests can be protected by the decisions we make. So please check the labels-before you buy- from food, clothing to furniture. In the great scheme of things we can make a difference.